Macy’s is the latest retailer to explore the use of virtual reality as a shopping tool. Starting this summer, select Macy’s stores will introduce a VR tool that enables customers to better visualize potential furniture purchases in a “real” room. This is an expansion of a furniture pilot project, which the company calls a success. As such, the expansion will … …read more

]]>https://thetechnews.org/macys-vr-in-store-tool-offers-immersive-furniture-shopping/feed/0268227Pixel XL Android 8.1 charging bug is dangeroushttps://thetechnews.org/pixel-xl-android-8-1-charging-bug-is-dangerous/
https://thetechnews.org/pixel-xl-android-8-1-charging-bug-is-dangerous/#respondTue, 20 Mar 2018 00:57:05 +0000https://thetechnews.org/pixel-xl-android-8-1-charging-bug-is-dangerous/By JC Torres The Pixel 2 XL, for all its impressive features and camera, has been burdened by numerous bugs, none of which, fortunately, are as dangerous as this new one to beset its...

The Pixel 2 XL, for all its impressive features and camera, has been burdened by numerous bugs, none of which, fortunately, are as dangerous as this new one to beset its predecessor. The original 2016 Pixel XL just received its Android 8.1 update a few months ago, but it seems to have received more than what users bargained for. A … …read more

T-Mobile is likely to follow this move, given that Deutsche Telekom is its parent company.

Such a move might dramatically change the way carriers operate in the US.

Deutsche Telekom also states that Android updates will now come directly from manufacturers. Could this be a beginning of something new for Android users?

Editor’s Pick

10 reasons why Android is still better than iOS

Back in 2013 we wrote “10 reasons why Android is still better than iOS.” Three years later, almost all these points remain the same, but we’ve updated a few to keep them relevant.

You might like: …

What drives people away from Android? Some cite security concerns (I no longer see the merit in this argument), some cite inadequate cross-device support (fair enough), but one of the biggest reasons has got to be the amount of bloatware and the slow software updates. Unwanted pre-installed apps and software updates that are six months too late are particularly pervasive in the US where most Android phones are carrier-branded. Even well-established companies like Samsung sell their flagship devices filled with carrier-specific bloatware. And even the phones with the lightest custom skin take ages to receive OS updates.

Well, Deutsche Telekom wants to transform this unfortunate reality, and its decision could bring some much-needed changes to the US, starting with T-Mobile. Specifically, Deutsche Telekom says that from now on, its customers will be given the option to install carrier-specific apps during the initial set-up. Not only that, future firmware updates will come directly from Android manufacturers, meaning Deutsche Telekom won’t require an additional “carrier testing” period.

Just like the death of two-year contracts, bloatware and slow updates on Android phones could become a thing of the past.

The best part about this, at least for those who are in the US, is that Deutsche Telekom is the parent company of T-Mobile. While it remains to be seen, it is not unlikely that T-Mobile will introduce similar policies in the future. The option to remove all bloatware means faster and smoother performance, and direct updates should dramatically reduce the time it takes for you to receive software updates. If T-Mobile takes a similar approach in the US, it could really disturb the industry status quo. Just like the death of two-year contracts (which T-Mobile spearheaded with its Un-carrier movements), bloatware and slow updates on Android phones could become a thing of the past.

What are your thoughts on Deutsche Telekom’s move? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

]]>https://thetechnews.org/t-mobiles-parent-company-says-no-to-pre-installed-bloatware/feed/0268231‘Post-Cable’ Digital News Outlet Cheddar Raises $22 Million for International Expansionhttps://thetechnews.org/post-cable-digital-news-outlet-cheddar-raises-22-million-for-international-expansion/
https://thetechnews.org/post-cable-digital-news-outlet-cheddar-raises-22-million-for-international-expansion/#respondTue, 20 Mar 2018 00:29:36 +0000https://thetechnews.org/post-cable-digital-news-outlet-cheddar-raises-22-million-for-international-expansion/By Sean Burch Cheddar, the “post-cable” digital news channel with an emphasis on tech and business news, has raised $22 million to fund international expansion and add a Snapchat channel, the company announced on...

Cheddar, the “post-cable” digital news channel with an emphasis on tech and business news, has raised $22 million to fund international expansion and add a Snapchat channel, the company announced on Monday.

The channel’s fourth round of funding, led by Raine Ventures, values the company at $160 million — a jump from its previous $85 million valuation. Since launching in early 2016, Cheddar had raised $32 million from investors like AT&T and Amazon.

CEO John Steinberg – who founded Cheddar after serving as president of BuzzFeed — said the cash infusion will help launch a second network, dubbed Cheddar Big News. Steinberg added that Cheddar’s new partners Liberty Global and Antenna Group, which own several television stations in Europe, will help drive its international rollout.

“I’m thrilled to welcome this group of leading global media powerhouses into Cheddar,” said Jon Steinberg in a blog post. “We are strengthening our already robust balance sheet with capital that we can use to bring our Post Cable Networks to Europe and beyond. We own all of our IP and now is the time to monetize this asset globally.”

With its quick hit videos, Cheddar has looked to target cord-cutting millennials and Gen Z’ers. It’ll look to draw those same eyeballs on Snapchat next month when it launches its new Discover channel.

Cheddar has shifted from a subscription model to an advertising to drive revenue growth. The company has already netted $18 million in revenue this year, according to the Wall Street Journal, with 95 percent stemming from ads.

“In the past year, we at Raine have only deepened our conviction around the rise of brand-first new media companies,” said Gordon Rubenstein, Managing Partner of Raine Ventures, in a statement. “Cheddar has been the poster child for creating distinctive, high quality original content with its scoops, interviews, live broadcast innovations, distribution deals, and ad products. It is the prototypical Raine company and we are thrilled to support Cheddar in its next phase of growth.”

]]>https://thetechnews.org/post-cable-digital-news-outlet-cheddar-raises-22-million-for-international-expansion/feed/0268215Venezuela Petro cryptocurrency use blocked by White Househttps://thetechnews.org/venezuela-petro-cryptocurrency-use-blocked-by-white-house/
https://thetechnews.org/venezuela-petro-cryptocurrency-use-blocked-by-white-house/#respondTue, 20 Mar 2018 00:22:59 +0000https://thetechnews.org/venezuela-petro-cryptocurrency-use-blocked-by-white-house/By Brittany A. Roston The White House has officially banned the use of Venezuela’s state cryptocurrency “Petro.” An executive order on the matter was signed by Trump today, and in it the White House...

The White House has officially banned the use of Venezuela’s state cryptocurrency “Petro.” An executive order on the matter was signed by Trump today, and in it the White House dictates that all US persons, including permanent residents and entities, are prohibited from buying or otherwise dealing in the cryptocurrency. The move follows Venezuela’s recent launch of the digital currency, … …read more

]]>https://thetechnews.org/venezuela-petro-cryptocurrency-use-blocked-by-white-house/feed/0268216Color rolls out a test to try to search for hereditary risk for heart conditions like arrhythmiahttps://thetechnews.org/color-rolls-out-a-test-to-try-to-search-for-hereditary-risk-for-heart-conditions-like-arrhythmia/
https://thetechnews.org/color-rolls-out-a-test-to-try-to-search-for-hereditary-risk-for-heart-conditions-like-arrhythmia/#respondTue, 20 Mar 2018 00:00:56 +0000https://thetechnews.org/color-rolls-out-a-test-to-try-to-search-for-hereditary-risk-for-heart-conditions-like-arrhythmia/By Matthew Lynley Color is looking to add a new test to its line of genetic testing, this time focusing on hereditary factors that may affect a person’s chance for being prone to cardiovascular...

Color is looking to add a new test to its line of genetic testing, this time focusing on hereditary factors that may affect a person’s chance for being prone to cardiovascular complications like arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy.

Called the heart health test, Color’s new test looks to isolate the genes that can be partially responsible for heart-related conditions that may have a hereditary component. Color says the test analyzes 30 genes that contribute to the structure and rhythm of a healthy heart to determine if there may be any hereditary factors that could lead to heart complications down the line. VP of clinical operations Scott Topper acknowledged that hereditary factors certainly aren’t the only factors that might play into cardiovascular complications like arrhythmia, but there has been enough research to show that the potential hereditary genetic components that lead to those conditions is impactful enough to warrant building a test for those markers.

“Some of these conditions are relatively rare, and for most of them we expect the actual incidence to be about 1 in 200,” Topper said. “But what that means is, if we handle 1,000 people this week, we expect 5 of them to be affected by this. For those 5, the consequences of it going undetected, can be as extreme as sudden death. While though they’re rare, they incredibly impactful. It’s not a 100% predictive — For BRCA for example, we know that a woman who has a BRCA mutation has about an 80% chance of getting breast cancer in their lifetime and getting again and again. It’s not 100%, but it’s a profound enough likelihood that many people decide to take action.”

Color looks to target genes that the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics identified as high-impact and actionable. The end product is to see, if there is a mutation in one of those genes, there may be a possibility that the person is at higher risk for cardiovascular problems like cardiomyopathy or arrhythmia. There isn’t full penetrance — just like there isn’t in the BRCA test — so it’s more of a ‘heads up, go get it checked out just in case’ situation.

Color, previously Color Genomics, is one of a few well-funded genetic testing startups that aim to make it easier for consumers to get tested for potential complications down the line where they can take some preventative steps. In the case of this test, the goal is to flag any potential risk and then have them follow up with clinicians to determine if there are any lifestyle changes that need to happen. Consumers take a swab of saliva and send off the test — either for a few hundred bucks, or through a program that some employers are putting in place. Color raised $80 million in a financing round in August last year.

The latter part of that, employers getting into issuing these tests for their employees, is going to be increasingly important for Color. Catching diseases early helps reduce the overall cost to employers …read more

]]>https://thetechnews.org/color-rolls-out-a-test-to-try-to-search-for-hereditary-risk-for-heart-conditions-like-arrhythmia/feed/0268218The future of cord-cutting looks grim right nowhttps://thetechnews.org/the-future-of-cord-cutting-looks-grim-right-now/
https://thetechnews.org/the-future-of-cord-cutting-looks-grim-right-now/#respondTue, 20 Mar 2018 00:00:36 +0000https://thetechnews.org/the-future-of-cord-cutting-looks-grim-right-now/By Chris Mills Whether or not cable companies like it, people are ditching traditional pay TV at speed. 2017 was a dire year for cable companies; it was nothing short of catastrophic for satellite,...

Whether or not cable companies like it, people are ditching traditional pay TV at speed. 2017 was a dire year for cable companies; it was nothing short of catastrophic for satellite, which dropped 1.7 million subscribers.

So if we accept that traditionally-distributed pay TV bundles are going to die, the obvious question is what replaces them. Right now, you can get a bunch of streaming cable alternatives that cost around $40 per month and do everything cable did, just without the box. That’s fine for now, but as the fat profits from cable disappear, content companies are going to start shopping around for a different model, and what they come up with might not be so nice.

A study from The Diffusion Group, spotted by DSL Reports, suggests that all the major TV companies will have their own direct-to-consumer streaming service available by 2022. That means that rather than paying for one cable bundle, you might get stuck paying Disney $24.99 per month for access to Star Wars and also ESPN, CBS gets $6.99 for its channels, HBO takes its standard $12.99, and, well, you get the idea.

From a financial standpoint, a new system of paying each parent company might make sense for a few people. But just like traditional cable bundles, you’ll likely be left paying more than you want, just to get access to one particular sports channel or on-demand TV show.

That’s without considering the other downside, which is the user-experience side of this. Cable boxes aren’t exactly a masterclass in fine user experience, but using one mediocre remote sure beats having to update six different apps, manage six billing plans, and reset six different passwords once per month. I’m as much of a cheerleader for the demise of cable’s regional monopolies as anyone else, but a future made up of a handful of fragmented streaming services doesn’t sound great either.

]]>https://thetechnews.org/the-future-of-cord-cutting-looks-grim-right-now/feed/0268220Microsoft Promises, Microsoft Delivers! Windows Installation Time Reduced to 30 Minuteshttps://thetechnews.org/microsoft-promises-microsoft-delivers-windows-installation-time-reduced-to-30-minutes/
https://thetechnews.org/microsoft-promises-microsoft-delivers-windows-installation-time-reduced-to-30-minutes/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 23:56:43 +0000https://thetechnews.org/microsoft-promises-microsoft-delivers-windows-installation-time-reduced-to-30-minutes/By Rafia Shaikh Only last month we saw Dona Sarkar responding to a tweet that was complaining about Windows’ download and installation time. It appears the company has really been focusing on improving this...

Only last month we saw Dona Sarkar responding to a tweet that was complaining about Windows’ download and installation time. It appears the company has really been focusing on improving this process, as Microsoft has just announced reducing the time it takes to install Windows 10 feature updates to an average of 30 minutes instead of an average 82 minutes that it took to install the Creators Update. [This doesn’t apply to Patch Tuesday updates that usually don’t take this long.]

Microsoft: You will now be able to install Windows 10 Updates in under 30 minutes

In a blog post, Microsoft details how it has managed to improve Windows update model by keeping most of the process “online” instead of offline – referring to the installation period when a PC can’t be used. Joseph Conway, Senior Program Manager on the Windows Fundamentals team, explained this in detail:

To achieve this, we moved portions of the work done during the offline phases and placed it in the online phase. Because of these changes, the average offline time for the Fall Creator’s Update released last October has dropped to 51 minutes, a 38% improvement! But we didn’t stop there. We’ve done additional work in the upcoming Windows release to move portions of migration operations to the online phase as well. This has resulted in an overall reduction of offline time when installing builds in the Insiders Program to an average of 30 minutes. That’s a reduction of 63% from the Creators Update!

These changes will also result in the online process taking longer but Conway said it won’t be noticeable “to most users,” since the process will run at low priority, without having any significant impact on battery life or system performance.

The reduction in average offline time it takes for a feature update to install from 82 minutes to 30 minutes will be massive improvement for the end user. This improvement in the update model is, however, only limited to Insiders right now. Microsoft is expected to roll out these improvements with the next major Windows 10 update, but it isn’t clear if we will experience this with the upcoming Windows 10 Spring Creators Update.

]]>https://thetechnews.org/microsoft-promises-microsoft-delivers-windows-installation-time-reduced-to-30-minutes/feed/0268222Investor note claims Model 3 deliveries will disappoint once again this quarterhttps://thetechnews.org/investor-note-claims-model-3-deliveries-will-disappoint-once-again-this-quarter/
https://thetechnews.org/investor-note-claims-model-3-deliveries-will-disappoint-once-again-this-quarter/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 23:35:41 +0000https://thetechnews.org/investor-note-claims-model-3-deliveries-will-disappoint-once-again-this-quarter/By Yoni Heisler Even though demand for Tesla’s Model 3 has been off the charts, the primary metric investors seemingly care about centers on how many units the company actually manages to manufacture and...

Even though demand for Tesla’s Model 3 has been off the charts, the primary metric investors seemingly care about centers on how many units the company actually manages to manufacture and deliver to reservation holders. That said, a new investor note from Goldman Sachs (via MarketWatch) relays that Model 3 deliveries for the first quarter of 2018 will likely fall below Wall St. estimates.

Beyond the Model 3, Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino anticipates that Model S and Model X shipments for the quarter will also disappoint when Tesla formally posts its Q1 earnings next month. Predictably, shares of Tesla fell immediately in the wake of the bearish research note.

We believe the company is tracking below its 2018 Model S/X guidance of approx. 100k units (an implied 25,000 per quarter). Further, while monthly Model 3 deliveries are showing sequential improvement, we estimate that they will fall well short of consensus expectations.

Consequently, Goldman Sachs anticipates that Tesla shares may drop down to $205 over the next six months. That’s a bold projection given that Tesla shares haven’t traded in the low $200s since 2016. The projection is even bolder given that Tesla is reportedly getting a better handle on Model 3 production. Last we heard, the company remains confident that Model 3 production will jump to 5,000 units per week by the end of June.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the Tesla Semi impacts the company’s stock price, if at all. As we’ve reported previously, Tesla Semi pre-orders have been extremely impressive, with a number of Fortune 500 companies having already placed orders. UPS, for example, ordered 125 units in late December.

Still, demand has never been an issue for Tesla. So while the Tesla Semi is slated to begin production in 2019, it remains to be seen when the vehicle might actually start appearing on the road.

]]>https://thetechnews.org/investor-note-claims-model-3-deliveries-will-disappoint-once-again-this-quarter/feed/0268199My Tamagotchi Forever mobile game launches with AR featureshttps://thetechnews.org/my-tamagotchi-forever-mobile-game-launches-with-ar-features/
https://thetechnews.org/my-tamagotchi-forever-mobile-game-launches-with-ar-features/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 23:20:49 +0000https://thetechnews.org/my-tamagotchi-forever-mobile-game-launches-with-ar-features/By Brittany A. Roston Remember the Tamagotchi keychain games that enjoyed huge popularity during a sliver of the 90s? Bandai Namco announced a reimagined version of the game back in November, one designed for...

Remember the Tamagotchi keychain games that enjoyed huge popularity during a sliver of the 90s? Bandai Namco announced a reimagined version of the game back in November, one designed for mobile phones. The simple pixelated animals of your childhood have been replaced with full-color 3D graphics and robust games, relatively speaking, and they’re now available to play. READ: My Tamagotchi … …read more